\nVijay K. Taneja, 48-year-old Fairfax County mortgage broker, was sentenced in federal court for defrauding banks of 33 million dollars, and scamming fellow immigrants in the local Indian community with phoney home loans. The charge against him was that he took phoney home loans in local residents\u2019 names, and damaged their credit.
\nIn November, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which prosecutors said was the largest mortgage fraud case in at least two decades. \u201cI\u2019m very sorry about my conduct and the embarrassment to my family. I fully except my responsibilities, and I am really very sorry,\u201d the Washington Post quoted him as telling the court in low and halting tones at yesterday\u2019s sentencing.
\nAssistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Learned called the sentence significant and fair for what was \u201ca serious matter and a complicated matter.\u201d
\nCourt documents suggest that Taneja worked at several banks before launching his own mortgage company in 1990, and that his early clients were from the close-knit Indian community, many of whom were purchasing their first homes with his help.
\nHis reputation grew when he founded a company called Elite Entertainment that brought glamorous stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai to the United States.
\nTaneja later began investing in Indian films as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"